In celebration of Deborah Thomas’ 20 years at Australian Consolidated Press, she talks to www.aww.com.au about the highlights of her stellar career.
Q. Most memorable interview?
A. Russell Crowe for Cleo magazine. He gave me such a hard time.
**Q. Favourite celebrity of all time?
A.** Nicole Kidman because she’s always so gracious and professional.
**Q. Favourite AWW cover of all time?
A.** Bindi Irwin, Christmas 2006.
**Q. Most memorable story that you’ve covered and why?
A.** Crown Princess Mary’s wedding. At first we didn’t think that many people were that interested, but as the momentum built, we just kept adding pages and pages. We all had to come in on the Sunday prior to get it out ASAP but I was anxious that we’d be too late, given that our competitors would be out first. It ended up being one of our best selling issues, so the angst and effort paid off.
**Q. In light of the digital age, how do you see AWW evolving in the years to come?
A.** Because we have such a strong brand, we’re able to take it into so many areas, including online, television shows for both day and prime time, travel partnerships as well as mainstream merchandise. As an editor, I’m a content provider and, as the delivery systems change, so too will we adapt to meet those challenges and new technologies. We’ll continue to provide what we always do — the big personal stories behind the news and a great service section that includes food, health, home, fashion and beauty, albeit in a different format.
**Q: In your position as editor of The Weekly, what would you say is the one thing that the average Australian woman wants more of in her life?
A.**Time with her family.
**Q. What are the biggest challenges facing women today compared to 20 years ago?
A.** Finding the right balance between work and family.
**Q. Where do you see yourself in 20 years time?
A.** Retired and writing books by the sea.